How Life Surprises You
by LolyGothica
Summary: Snippet scenes, AU. Things blew up again at their dinner, when Hao suddenly took Horohoro's hands, pulled the Ainu to him, leaned down evading the boy's personal space, and said "Be my fiancé." HaoHoro, HoroRenHoro


My first Shaman King fanfiction.  
**In which** that the Shaman Fight wasn't about ruling the whole world, but just a tournament for the title of Shaman King, the strongest shaman in the world.  
**In which** Asakura Hao wasn't the evil, heartless, merciless villain. He was still a brother to Yoh, and still an Asakura, and of course still the crazily strong shaman who had been reincarnated twice with his Spirit Of Fire, he knew that yet he didn't have the consciousness of his previous lives.

Obviously HaoHoro, with a little HoroRenHoro.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Shaman King and its characters nor make any money by this fic.

**HOW LIFE SURPRISES YOU**

"Yoh." Manta called at the squatting Yoh. Amidamaru besides his shaman, cheered on him and occasionally warned him to not slacking off since Anna could pop out any when by now.

"What is it, Manta?" Yoh managed to replied between his pants.

"Why is Anna so hard to make you strong?" Manta asked.

Yoh blinked at the question. Oh yes, he didn't tell Manta about his family yet. Yoh straightened his back and stretched his aching muscles a bit before taking a seat beside Manta on the grass. He took the offered bottle of water and gulped on it.

"Well, you know that my family is so thick with shamanic stuff. Anna wants me to get strong so I can meet the elders standard to be the head family. You know, Anna and her million ambition." Yoh grinned sheepishly.

"Eh? Aren't you going to be the head family either way?"

"Nope, if I'm not strong enough when I reached 17, my Nii-san is going to be the head family."

"Nii-san? You have a brother?" Manta wide eyedly asked. Amidamaru gaped beside the short boy.

"Yeah, Asakura Hao."

"Wait, if you have an older brother, doesn't that mean he shall take the position?"

"Nah, he doesn't want it. Crazy it may be heard, but he is the reincarnation of our ascendant. And he feels like he got fed up with that kind of position. He, somehow, like Anna, forces me to become strong so the burden lifted off from his shoulders."

"Isn't that selfish?" Amidamaru asked.

"Not if I agree to it." Yoh said as he proceeded to stand up. "He is ridiculously strong, and to be frank, I fear his training more than Anna's if he knew I'm not strong enough."

"Who do you fear more than me?" Anna's cold voice rang behind them.

"Ma-Ma-Madam!" Amidamaru stuttered.

"A-A-A-AnnAAAAAA!" The scream was heartwrenching.

* * *

Manta glazed at the brightly shining star, which Yoh and Horohoro explained as the sign that the Shaman Fight was going to be held soon.

And the next day, Manta met with unusual sight. He went to Asakura's inn and suddenly, just in a night, Yoh's hair grew longer until it reached his waist.

"Who are you?" The Yoh in front of him asked.

"Manta. What Yoh? You forget me in one night?"

Amidamaru came past Manta, the shorter boy stared at the spirit with questioning stare. Amidamaru blinked, confused with the stare. He just nodded once in greeting before turning to the Yoh, as Manta dubbed.

"Hao-dono, Yoh-dono has completed his training season for today." Amidamaru informed.

"Hao?" Manta asked.

"Oh, Manta, right? I believe you confuse me with my brother, I'm Asakura Hao, Yoh's older twin." Hao smiled at him. But it wasn't what Manta used seeing in Yoh. The smile brought him uneasiness. It was contemplative, as if Hao was measuring him somehow, measuring his worth.

* * *

Hao didn't understand it, but this Horohoro boy, the one Yoh was fighting, intrigued him both physically and his ice-based power. Well, maybe the 'opposite attracts' was really true. Because the moment Hao knew the guy's power, he instantly pulled to the blue haired shaman. His attention then drifted to the more physical aspect. Like his fair skin, his kind of cute face, and of course how snuggly he looked. Not that was Hao a snuggling type.

But alas, it seemed that Horohoro was more interested to that Ren guy.

* * *

Hao refused to go along with Yoh and the other when they wanted to save Ren from his father's abusive training. He also refused to go along with them when they flew to America. Because if he was with them, Yoh wouldn't be stronger. Yoh should be stronger so the responsibility of head family position would be given to Yoh.

* * *

Finally they arrived at the Patch village. Chocolove introduced himself to them and informed that the tournament was about team battle. Each team consisted of three and Ren, already self-proclaimed himself as the leader of the suddenly formed group with Horohoro and Chocolove. Horohoro stammered stream of protests, but it was only to conceal his happiness after being picked by Ren.

And Yoh sighed after seeing that his brother indulge himself with weirdos, again.

* * *

Chocolove, Micky, Kororo, and Bason gaped, paled, and sweated profusely at the sight in front of them. They were training under the heavy rain. Despite his advantage, Horohoro was being cornered by Ren. The leader smirked triumphantly with his usual sadistic glint in his eyes while still pointing the Kwan do to Horohoro's neck. And on what impulse Horohoro didn't know, he leaned up and grabbed the Chinese's top. Took by surprise Ren stumbled forward and their lips met.

Chocolove wanted to say something, anything to break the uncomfortable silence. Ren only turned around before peered aside to Horohoro.

"This will never happen again." He said coldly.

The hurt in Horohoro's eyes was indescribable. Chocolove didn't want to see those dark orbs filled with that much hurt again.

* * *

After that, everyday was tensed. Both boys avoided each other. The tension was multiplied when both of them present in a same room. Ren being quieter than usual, he was edgy as well, which weird. Horohoro though, he was more subdued. They never spoke to each other unless necessary. And that worried Chocolove more than anything. They were friends! Friends should chat, speak to each other! And besides that, they were teammates.

* * *

Two weeks after that, the tension lessened gradually. Both Horohoro and Ren back to their old selves. Although when it came to just the two of them, the tension was still in the air. Yet both boys tried their hardest to be as casual as possible. Horohoro tried to stop his feeling to show, and Ren tried to ignore the fact that another boy, a friend, had a crush on him.

Chocolove could see, that Horohoro was hurting. But he didn't know how to fix it. It wasn't his place.

Things blew up again at their dinner, when Hao suddenly took Horohoro's hands, pulled the Ainu to him, leaned down evading the boy's personal space, and said "Be my fiancé."

The growl Chocolove heard, definitely wasn't from Ren. Or so he said to himself.

* * *

Horohoro blushed madly as he launched an attack to Chocolove.

"That Hao bastard! How could he!" Chocolove defended himself from a big icicle. "What was he thinking!" Chocolove smiled despite being attacked. It was Horohoro's way to express his pent up embarrassment.

"Now now, Horohoro, you don't need to be this work up." Chocolove reasoned.

"The hell I don't! It's my every rights to be pissed off!" Horohoro crossed his arms haughtily.

"Just tell him that you don't want to be his fiancé."

"I have! You were there Chocolove!"

"Then?"

"The– He said he will make me his eventually! I don't know what does that mean. And knowing Hao ..." Horohoro trailed.

Chocolove understood. Knowing Hao, he would get what he wanted, sooner or later.

Beneath a tree, Ren was silently fuming. He didn't understand how could he feel like this, this anger toward Hao and Horohoro.

* * *

"Ren ... Ren is ... Dead?" Horohoro whispered with unfocused eyes. He desperately put his palm over Ren's heart, wishing he could feel his heartbeats.

"No... NO!" Horohoro was openly screaming now. Chocolove weeping by his side. A group of Shamans challenged them. They tricked them in the fight, and killed Ren in the process.

* * *

"I can revive him."

Horohoro looked up to Hao, whose eyes strangely sympathetic.

"Then what are you waiting for!?" Horohoro shouted.

"On one condition."

"Just name it!" Horohoro was almost hysterical. But then he blanched, knowing already what the condition would be. He looked down, his stray bangs covered his eyes. "I understand, please revive him." He said with wavering voice.

Hao lifted up Horohoro's chin. Chocolove didn't see how the ice shaman's face was with the heavy rain. But he knew, some of the water drops on Horohoro's face were tears when Hao claimed his lips for the first time.

* * *

"How could you." Yoh flatly asked. His eyes weren't lazy as usual. He gripped Harusame tightly.

"What are you talking about?"

"How could you take advantage of Ren's death like that? Insensitive prick." Hao was almost sure he heard it wrong. But feeling the raging furyoku around Yoh, he must heard it right. Yoh had insulted him. Well, there was first for everything.

"Just one question though." Yoh said. "Those random shamans, you are not involved with them, aren't you?"

Oh, so that was why he brought Harusame with him.

"Of course not, despite how detached I am, I still regard them as friends."

Yoh nodded curtly. But he was relieved knowing his brother didn't do anything with the random shamans that had attacked team The Ren.

* * *

When Ren woke up, he suddenly felt his furyoku was different. He felt a lot stronger. Jun hugged him immediately, whispering things Ren didn't bother to hear in his confused state. Chocolove and Yoh smiled in relief. Hao leaned casually on the door frame. Faust took notes about his physical condition. Ryu mumbled incoherent things to Lyserg to express his gratitude that Ren was finally woke up. Strangely though, Horohoro wasn't there.

"How long was I out?" He asked.

"Just one day." Yoh answered as he grinned widely.

Time after that went like a blur for Ren. His mind only focused on one thing, why wasn't Horohoro there with them?

* * *

"Horohoro-san." Tamao called. "Ren-san is awake." She informed.

"Oh, yeah. Hao told me." Horohoro replied casually as he helped her to set the table for their lunch.

"Aren't you going to see him?"

"Nah, with that many people, he will burst up if we add another person, right?" Horohoro grinned. Tamao giggled at that. But Anna saw what beneath the grinning mask.

By the lunch time, Ren glared at Chocolove, silently demanded for explanation of why Faust seated beside him and Horohoro seated beside Hao.

* * *

Horohoro found it wasn't half bad. Hao actually was caring, in his own way.

Within months during SF, he was aware of the affectionate feeling that grew within him for the long haired Asakura.

* * *

Ren was pissed off. Everyone was hiding something from him. He watched Chocolove and Horohoro trained. Tomorrow was their match with Team Funbari Onsen. Finally the very time he wait came to settle his fight with Yoh.

But something didn't sit right for Ren. Horohoro was hardly blushing because of him now! Not that Ren wanted to see him blushing, no. It just, strange. And he didn't like it when he couldn't figure something out.

And the answer came out from Yoh, right in the middle of their team battle.

"I know Nii-san will beat me into bloody pulp after this, but sorry Horohoro, Aniki's fiancé or not, I have to beat you to win this round."

There Ren's concentration thrown out of the arena.

* * *

"Chou Senji Ryakketsu." Hao pointed a line in the old journal of his previous self on the tea table. "I don't know how, but my previous self thought that it was necessary to make a technique so a male shaman can get pregnant."

"You are sick right from the start." Horohoro beside him, shoulder to shoulder, blushing furiously but didn't make any attempt to revert his gaze from the lines Hao pointed. "I-I don't want to get pregnant." He stuttered while watching nervously to a smirking Hao.

"Of course, who wants to get you pregnant? Not now, don't worry."

"'Not now'!?" Horohoro shrieked, manly of course.

"What? Don't you want a child in the future?"

"We-well... You can be the pregnant one between us!"

"You know that's not gonna happen."

Ren was disgusted hearing their conversation at one evening in the living room when they thought they were alone. Yeah, they disgusted him, Ren kept telling himself that. He hated them to their very guts when they were being close like this. Even Yoh and Anna, whose engagement longer than them, never being this mushy.

* * *

The Shaman Fight was over. Hao got the Shaman King title as expected. The Patch went festivities after the long and hard battle they organized. The Shaman Festival was taken place in the center of the Patch village.

It was sickening for Ren when he saw the silly bicker between Hao and Horohoro. Like what color of yukata suited Hao better, or how Horohoro's headband was illegal with the blue yukata he wore. It was sickening even more when Horohoro, with blushing face, smoothen out a crease on Hao's yukata while standing closely to each other. It was sickening, he wanted to vomit.

Chocolove gulped by the sudden flare of furyoku blasted toward him when he called Ren.

* * *

Ren strayed himself from the group. He didn't feel like hanging around. With his loss from Yoh, and the prickly feeling he felt around Horohoro, it was better to go alone for now. He looked around, the Patch were indeed crafty. The sky filled with fireworks too. It was wonderful actually.

He arrived at a secluded park. Ren sighed, deciding to just sit and enjoy the firework. Until he heard a moan.

"Ha-Hao..."

He recognized that voice, how could he not?

Ren sneaked around, being as stealthy as possible. He approached the noises silently until he saw two familiar silhouettes on the grassy land. The one beneath the other was panting, his arms circled the neck of his companion. The one on top, with long hair put in a pony tail, attacked the person below him with passionate kisses. Feverish moans came out from the blue haired boy, whose headband was nowhere to be seen.

Ren was illogically furious. To add to his fury, a loud "AH" came out from Horohoro's lips.

A second later, various weapons emerged from the ground. Thanks to Hao's reflex he managed to stir himself and Horohoro out of the weapons' ways.

"What do you think you are doing, Tao Ren?" Hao asked calmly.

"What am I doing!? You are disgusting! Such inappropriate acts in public!"

"We are engaged." Hao reasoned. Horohoro gaped at the weapons around them. His wrist was tightly gripped by Hao's hand.

"That doesn't justify a shit!" Ren launched an attack again. Hao left Horohoro's side to answer Ren's challenge.

"NO! Wait guys! You shouldn't do this! The SF is over!" Horohoro shouted.

But they heed nothing and began to fight. Weapons thrown haphazardly, fire burned everything it crossed. Until a stray attack hit Horohoro directly, who was at the time defenseless without oversoul. The sickening crack when he landed on the hard ground slapped both of them out of their stupid fight.

* * *

Ren sat with his head low in a bow to Horohoro. The purple haired shaman apologized, after being scolded by his mother and sister. Horohoro pouted and crossed his bandaged arms in front of his bandaged chest. He sprouted some scolding to the other before finally sighed and smiled forgivingly. Hao was nowhere to be seen, Mikihisa and Yohmei took the place to scold the Shaman King.

"I'm sorry too, Ren."

"Huh?" Ren blinked as he sliced an apple for the injured Usui.

"I didn't know that you were homophobic."

Ren blinked again, and again, and again. Until he realized Horohoro's logic.

"No!" Ren actually spluttered. "I'm not homophobic. I-I can't explain this but I'm not homophobic."

"Then how did you feel so bothered by us?"

"Just drop it Horohoro. I'm not homophobic, and I'm okay with you." Ren glared.

"Tch, I don't get you."

"You won't with that tiny brain you have."

"What was that, you pointy brat!"

* * *

"So, everything is okay now?" Horohoro asked to Hao who was silently sulking. Mikihisa had forced him to speak 'heart to heart' with Ren, which actually consisted of threats here and there, and fortunately truce and agreement.

"You can say that." Hao closed his eyes as he took out Chou Senji Ryakketsu.

"I don't like how that sounds." Horohoro protested as he stood akimbo.

"Better yet, let's try this Chou Senju Ryakketsu technique."

"What tech- NO!" Horohoro backed away three steps when he saw what technique Hao was pointing. The Male Pregnancy Technique. He was okay with sex, but the prospect of having a baby in his fit abdomen didn't appeal him yet.

Anna suddenly opened the screen sliding door. Her face was serious and solemn.

"I won't let you have a heir before us." She stated firmly before slamming the door shut.

**END**

Thanks for reading, review? :3


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